True West . . . since 1953 . . .
Preserving the American West!

     Launched in 1953 by the legendary Joe "Hosstail" Small in Austin, Texas, True West is a popular history publication with a very loyal, core readership. Thanks to the proliferation of TV Westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the magazine enjoyed broad circulation (200,000+ newsstand sales). But, as the market and his health started to decline, Joe Small sold out in 1974 and over the next decade, the magazine bounced around the Midwest, finally settling in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the Oklahoma owners did not have the capital to stay current with the changing times and the magazine began to lose significant market share, as newer, slicker titles like Cowboys & Indians and American Cowboy came into the marketplace. By mid-1999, the publication, along with three other titles, was for sale, and the current owners came to the rescue. True West Publishing (including assets and trademarked names of True West, Old West, Frontier Times) moved to Cave Creek, Arizona in October 1999.

        In 2003, the magazine celebrated its 50th anniversary. The year also marked the incorporation of True West Publishing and an increase in the magazine's frequency to 10 issues.

        This amazing, little ol' magazine begins its second half century with even more milestones:

       Our very own True West Moments continues to air on Starz!/Encore Westerns Channel (where we set the record straight on what is historically accurate and what isn't in Western movies); We launched the True West Maniac Club, bringing together a growing community of avid Western history lovers; and we are launching the True West Preservation Society in 2008. The good news is, we aren't done yet! True West magazine is planning many exciting new projects, which will make your bisquits rise! So stick around and see what else we cook up.

Bob Boze Bell
Executive Editor,
True West magazine